President
Barack Obama said in a special World Habitat Day message on Monday that his
administration was looking towards stronger partnerships with other
organizations in addressing the challenges facing American people, including
housing.
“World Habitat Day is a good chance to look into the problem of people
without housing and how to help them,” he said in a video-taped message to
participants marking the one-day occasion at a colourful ceremony at the
National
Building
Museum in
Washington.
President Obama said it was only through partnerships that the challenges
could be addressed, adding that on its own, the
US government could not succeed.
He said World Habitat Day this year came at a critical time when many people
were faced with the spectre of homelessness.
The global celebration of World Habitat Day in cities around the world was
spearheaded from
Washington
DC on Monday in a series of
events hosted by the US Department for Housing and Urban Development.
Meanwhile, the
US ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Susan Rice warned of the challenge
facing humanity in general over housing.
“About one sixth of humanity now lives in slums and the figures are set to
rise in the near future and it is going to be a huge challenge addressing
this issue,” she said.
In his opening keynote
address on Monday, Mr. Shaun Donovan, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, said: “ We face the largest wave of urban growth in human
history. For the first time ever, more than half of our global population
lives in metropolitan areas. By 2030 almost 5 billion people will live in
urban areas. With each of these developments come enormous challenges – to
deliver health care services and safe drinking water; to provide reliable,
energy-efficient transportation. Highlights of the occasion included the
presentation of the Scroll
of Honour Awards – the highest tribute of the UN system for achievements
by individuals, cities or institutions in the cause of human settlements.
By
tradition, World Habitat Day is also used to launch the agency’s biennial
flagship publication, the Global
Report on Human Settlements 2009. In keeping with tradition the report’s
theme is the same as that World Habitat Day itself - Planning our Urban
Future.
The Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and UN-HABITAT’s
Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka are co-hosting the one-day
celebration at the
National
Building
Museum in
Washington,
DC.
This year's theme is Planning Our Urban Future to raise awareness of the need
to improve urban planning to deal with new major challenges of the 21st
century so that our cities can manage and reduce the impacts of climate
disruption, the economic crisis and urban poverty around the world.
"President Obama has asked that we become engaged in the global
discussion on our shared vision of making socially and environmentally
sustainable urban communities," said Mr. Donovan in a message posted on
the department’s web page.
"This is a time of great challenge and great opportunity when it comes
to addressing the 21st Century housing and sustainability issues facing the
nations of the world. By collaborating with UN-HABITAT, other nations,
grassroots, practitioners, industry stakeholders, public and private sector
partners and others we can help steer a new, more inclusive, greener housing
approach."
In his special message to mark World Habitat Day, UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon, said: “Stark contrasts have also emerged between technologically
advanced and well-serviced business sectors, and other areas defined by
declining industry, sweatshops and informal businesses. Better, more
equitable urban planning is essential.”
In her message, Mrs. Tibaijuka says the choice of this year’s reflects the
fact that in many parts of the world, urban planning systems have changed
little and that in some cases they contribute to the problems rather than
help solve them.
“It is clear to us at UN-HABITAT and to our partners in government,
municipalities, and at community level that current approaches to planning
must change and that a new role for planning in sustainable urban development
has to be found,” she said.
On her arrival in
Washington Friday, Mrs. Tibaijuka paid a courtesy call on the Secretary General of the
Organization of American States Mr. Jose Miguel Insulza. On Saturday she
addressed a reception of the American Planners Association and the
Association of Colleges and Schools of Planning. World Habitat Day has been
celebrated annually in cities around the world since 1986.
Meanwhile,
UN-HABITAT announced that grants of USD 5,000 to USD 25,000 were awarded to
some 67 youth projects from
around the world by UN-HABITAT’s new Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth – Led
Development.
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